🧀 Risotto with Bitto and parùc – Valtellinese recipe with wild spinach
The risotto with Bitto and parùc is an authentic dish from the Valtellinese mountain tradition, where two typical ingredients from the region meet: the precious Bitto DOP and parùc, or wild spinach 🌿. The result is a creamy, flavorful, and highly aromatic risotto, perfect to enjoy in the autumn or winter months, perhaps with a sprinkle of pestèda to enhance the alpine flavors even more. If you can't find parùc, you can substitute them with fresh spinach, but the final taste will be less "wild" and characteristic. A recipe for true connoisseurs! 🍚❄️
📝 Ingredients (for 4 people)
- 300 g of Carnaroli rice
- 1 shallot
- 200 g of aged Bitto DOP (at least 12 months)
- 100 g of wild spinach (parùc) or fresh spinach
- 50 g of grated grana cheese
- 40 g of butter
- 2 liters of vegetable or light meat broth
- 1 glass of dry white wine
- 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- (Optional): a pinch of Valtellinese pestèda for flavoring
👩🍳 Step-by-step preparation
1. Prepare the base of the risotto:
- In a large saucepan, pour in the extra virgin olive oil and sauté the finely chopped shallot.
- Add the rice and toast it for a few minutes over medium heat.
- Deglaze with the white wine and let it evaporate completely.
2. Cooking the risotto:
- Continue cooking for 14 minutes, adding hot broth one ladle at a time and stirring often.
- Meanwhile, blanch the wild spinach (or fresh) in salted water for 2 minutes, then drain and roughly chop them.
3. Add the Valtellinese flavors:
- 3 minutes before the cooking is finished, add the blanched spinach and the Bitto cut into thin flakes to the risotto.
- Continue to stir gently to melt the cheese and blend the ingredients.
4. Final creaming:
- Turn off the heat and add the butter in pieces and the grana cheese.
- Stir for 1 minute with the heat off until obtaining a creamy and well-creamed risotto.
5. Serving:
- Serve the risotto immediately.
- Finish with a sprinkle of black pepper and, for a special touch, a pinch of pestèda.
📸 The image of the dishes is purely indicative and does not necessarily correspond exactly to the recipe
